Clubface of golf club head and method for fabricating the same

ABSTRACT

A clubface of golf club head and a method for fabricating the same can fabricate the clubface in mass production and will not consume much more valuable metal. The method has the following steps: firstly, a conductive top mould and a conductive bottom mould are provided. Then, titanium powder is placed on the conductive bottom mould and press down the top mould. Following, the conductive top mould and the conductive bottom mould are electrified. The conductive top mould is provided with consistent pressure to contact with the conductive bottom mould, and consistently electrifying the conductive top mould and the conductive bottom mould for a predetermined period. After that, removing electricity, and removing the conductive top mould and taking out the clubface of the golf club head.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a clubface of golf club head and amethod for fabricating the same, and in particular to a clubface of golfclub head fabricated by electrical mould sintering and associatedmethod.

2. Description of Related Art

A clubface of golf club head is made of metal with high strength becausethe clubface is subjected to and withholds massive impact. In addition,surface of the clubface is usually not flat but curved. In this regard,it is rather complicated to fabricate the clubface of the golf clubhead. Especially, melting point of the metal with high strength is veryhigh so the clubface of the golf club head cannot be fabricated bycasting process.

In prior art, the clubface of the golf club head is usually cut orcarved out by cutting tool with very high strength so that curvedsurface is formed on the clubface. However, it spends too much valuablemetal to carve the golf club head, and it is impossible to fabricate theclubface in mass production by this cutting process.

Thus, there is a need for a clubface of golf club head and a method forfabricating the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a clubface of golfclub head and a method for fabricating the same. The clubface of thepresent invention can be fabricated in mass production and will notconsume much more valuable metal.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a clubface ofgolf club head and a method for fabricating the same. It is convenientto fabricate curved surface of the clubface of the golf club head inmass production.

To achieve object of the present invention, a method for fabricating aclubface of golf club head is provided. The method comprises the steps:providing a conductive top mould and a conductive bottom mould; placingtitanium powder on the conductive bottom mould; electrifying theconductive top mould and the conductive bottom mould; providingconsistent pressure to have the conductive top mould in contact with theconductive bottom mould; consistently electrifying the conductive topmould and the conductive bottom mould for a predetermined period;removing electricity; and removing the conductive top mould and takingout the clubface of the golf club head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be fully understood from the followingdetailed description and preferred embodiment with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for fabricating a clubfaceof golf club head according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a drawing schematically illustrating how to place metallicpowder according to the method of present invention;

FIG. 3 is a drawing schematically illustrating how the mould issubjected to electrical voltage according to method of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a drawing schematically illustrating how clubface of golf clubhead is assembled to a golf shaft according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratinggeneral principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

Reference is made to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of methodfor fabricating a clubface of golf club head according to the presentinvention. Reference is made to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIGS. 2 and 3schematically illustrate the method for fabricating a clubface of golfclub head according to the present invention. The processing of theflowchart is described in detail below.

Step 41: In step 41, a top mould 10 and a bottom mould 20 are provided.The top mould 10 and the bottom mould 20 are conductive and made ofmetallic material that withholds high voltage, for example made ofgraphite. And, the top mould 10 and the bottom mould 20 are formed witha top mould cavity 12 and a bottom mould cavity 22 corresponding to ashape of the clubface of the golf club head, respectively. Top surfaceof the bottom mould 20 is encircled by an insulation spacer 24 thatabuts against the bottom surface of the top mould 10 to prevent the topmould 10 and the bottom mould 20 from being short circuits. Then,processing goes to step 42.

Step 42: In step 42, titanium powder 30 is placed on the bottom mouldcavity 22 of the bottom mould 20. It is easy to manufacture titaniumpowder 30 with small size but it spends much more time to manufacturetitanium powder 30. According to the present invention, it isrecommended that size of the titanium powder 30 is smaller than 40 μm.Then, processing goes to step 43.

Step 43: In step 43, because the top mould 10 is downwardly pushed sothat the titanium powder 30 is positioned between the top mould 10 andthe bottom mould 20. In this step, before the top mould 10 is in contactwith the bottom mould 20, the top mould 10 will be in contact with thetitanium powder 30. Then, processing goes to step 44.

Step 44: In step 44, the top mould 10 and the bottom mould 20 areelectrified by high voltage electricity. According to the presentinvention, it is recommended that the high voltage ranges from 10,000voltage to 500,000 voltage. Because the titanium powder 30 is higherthen the top surface of the bottom mould 20, the top mould 10 willcontact the titanium powder 30 firstly when pushed down. When thetitanium powder 30 is electrified by the high voltage, oxide (TiO₂) ofthe titanium powder 30 is heated and vaporized out of the top mould 10and the bottom mould 20 so that pure titanium powder is formed. Thetitanium powder 30 is sintered by high temperature in a short time. Inthis regard, the clubface that is sintered is formed to prevent thetitanium powder 30 from oxidizing. Therefore, the present inventionsolves the problem that titanium powder is easily oxidized and affectsthe sintering effect. Then, processing goes to step 45.

Step 45: In step 45, the top mould 10 is subjected to a consistentpressure so that the top mould 10 is in contact with the bottom mould20. Then, processing goes to step 46.

Step 46: In step 46, the top mould 10 and the bottom mould 20 isconsistently electrified for a predetermined period. In this regard, toimplement a consistent pressure P on the top mould 10, during sinteringprocess, the titanium powder 30 is much more compact. How longelectricity is supplied is depends on size of the titanium powder 30 andthe clubface. Then, processing goes to step 47.

Step 47: In step 47, until the titanium powder 30 is completelysintered, electrical voltage is removed. Finally, the top mould 10 isremoved, and the clubface 32 of golf club head is formed after coolingprocess. Then, processing stops.

According to the present invention, the clubface 32 includes a main body322 and a hitting curved surface 320, and the hitting curved surface 320is used as a top surface of the main body 322. Microstructure of themain body 322 is structure of sintering. People who are skilled at theart know this structure of sintering and it is amorphous so relateddescription is omitted. Advantages of the present invention are that thehitting curved surface 320 of the clubface 32 is easily formed withembossing structure (such as plural protrusions or protrusive stripes)to enhance striking characteristics during strike the club ball. Inaddition, according to the present invention, it is easy to fabricatethe hitting curved surface 320 having embossing structure in massproduction. Unlike the prior art, used cutting technology to form theembossing structure.

According to the present invention, a consistent pressure P isimplemented on the top mould 10 so that the top mould 10 is in contactwith the bottom mould 20 and density and strength of the clubface 32 aresatisfied. Furthermore, according to the present invention, impact isapplied at the top mould 10 and the bottom mould 20 so that density andstrength of the clubface 32 are significantly improved.

Reference is made to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates howclubface of golf club head is assembled to a golf shaft according to thepresent invention. A golf club 100 includes a golf shaft 102 and a golfclub head 104. According to the present invention, the clubface 32 isscrewed and fixed or welded at the golf club head 104 of the golf club100.

To screw the clubface 32 to the golf club 100, a plurality of screwholes 106 are integrally formed with the golf club head 104.Furthermore, a plurality of fixing holes corresponding to the screwholes 106 are integrally formed with the clubface 32 so that theclubface 32 is fixed at the golf club head 104 by the screws 108.

As described above, advantages of the present invention are in thefollowing.

1. According to the present invention, it is easy to fabricate theclubface of the golf club head in mass production and valuable metalwill not be significantly consumed.

2. According to the present invention, it is convenient to fabricatecurved surface of the clubface of the golf club head in mass production.

3. According to the present invention, the present invention needssmaller space than those of the prior art used cutting machine.

While the invention has been described with reference to the preferredembodiments, the description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claimswill cover any such modifications or embodiments as may fall within thescope of the invention defined by the following claims and theirequivalents.

1. A method for fabricating a clubface of a golf club head, the methodincluding the steps: providing a conductive top mould and a conductivebottom mould; placing titanium powder on the conductive bottom mould;providing consistent pressure to the conductive top mould; electrifyingthe conductive top mould and the conductive bottom mould; providingconsistent pressure to have the conductive top mould in contact with theconductive bottom mould; consistently electrifying the conductive topmould and the conductive bottom mould for a predetermined period;removing electricity; and removing the conductive top mould and takingout the clubface of the golf club head.
 2. The method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the top mould and the bottom mould are made ofgraphite.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom mouldhas an insulation spacer encircled on a top surface thereof that abutsagainst a bottom surface of the top mould.
 4. The method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the size of the titanium powder is smaller than 40 μm.5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the high voltageelectrified to the moulds ranges from 10,000 voltages to 500,000voltages.
 6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a stepof impacting the clubface removed from the top mould and the bottommould.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising aplurality of fixing holes are integrally formed with one side of theclubface.
 8. A clubface of golf club head produced according to themethod of claim 1, comprising: a main body, having a structure ofsintering; and a hitting curved surface, formed on a top surface of themain body.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the hittingcurved surface is formed with embossing structure.